MrBeast, YouTube's biggest star, acknowledges past 'inappropriate language' as controversies swirl

Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTube star known as MrBeast, stands in a sideline box at an MLS soccer match on March 10, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Rebecca Blackwell / AP Photo, File)

New York — MrBeast, YouTube's biggest star and a philanthropic force with nearly unrivaled influence among young audiences, acknowledged Wednesday that he used “inappropriate language” in his early online days, as numerous controversies bubbled up around him and a former collaborator.

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and his reported US$700 million empire have come under new fire in recent weeks after accusations of past racist comments by Donaldson surfaced along with allegations that a longtime colleague made inappropriate sexual comments to minors.

“When Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny," a spokesperson for the YouTuber said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Over the years he has repeatedly apologized and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility to be more aware and more sensitive to the power of language. After making some bad jokes and other mistakes when he was younger, as an adult he has focused on engaging with the MrBeast community to work together on making a positive impact around the world.”

His highly produced videos of whimsical challenges and lavish gifts, often accompanied by expressive thumbnails and punchy titles, have drawn a record 307 million Youtube subscribers. His latest uploads include “Ages 1 - 100 Decide Who Wins US$250,000” and “I Built 100 Houses And Gave Them Away!” which, like most of his videos, garnered more than 100 million views.

The philanthropic sector has received this content with a mix of praise for encouraging direct generosity and criticism of exploitative “inspiration porn.” Donaldson's greater ambition made itself plain in recent years through the launch of his snack brand Feastables, a branded burger chain with reviews bad enough that he sued the company behind it, and an Amazon Prime Video deal for a 1,000-contestant reality competition show.

But before overtaking YouTube with his often-absurd charitable acts, Donaldson built a sizable following as a gaming content creator who sometimes interacted with viewers on livestreams.

'Blind ambition for attention'

In a 2017 clip circulated by YouTube influencer Rosanna Pansino in a July 24 post on X, Donaldson responded to a viewer who commented about selling Black people for money and said that “the most I would pay is probably 300.” Donaldson also used a homophobic slur at multiple points. After one commenter repeated a racial slur, Donaldson eventually instructed his audience to stop using that word in the chat.

Pansino told AP she’d worked on various potential business ventures with Donaldson over the last several years, though none ever launched. Last fall, she complained publicly about an edit of her appearance in a MrBeast video, though eventually deleted the posts after she said she received death threats from fans.

Pansino said that contrary to popular opinion, it’s “just not true” that Donaldson has always made “family friendly content.”

“His first videos, where he was trying to be an edgy gamer and streamer, and he said horrible things and nasty things — I didn’t know that," Pansino said. "I had no idea that history was there.”

In a separate clip from a May 2017 podcast appearance, Donaldson suggested he would have sex with the rapper Bhad Bhabie, whose real name is Danielle Bregoli and who was 14 years old at the time. The video has since been removed for “violating YouTube’s community guidelines.”

Podcast co-host Leon Lush defended Donaldson in a video posted on X last week. Lush said Donaldson clarified later on the episode that he “wouldn’t do that” because Bregoli was “way too young" and had joked they should "say something offensive that people can take out of context.”

Lush added that the recording is “cringe in hindsight" and dismissed the outcry as “a molehill turning into a mountain."

“Being unfunny seems like the worst offense here. When you mix a propensity for dark humor with blind ambition for attention, you get” this content sometimes, Lush said. "Was being edgy the best strategy? Certainly not, although it did work sometimes as far as getting attention.”

Collaborator controversy

Those clips emerged as internet sleuths alleged that longtime MrBeast collaborator Ava Kris Tyson interacted inappropriately with minors online.

Under scrutiny are Tyson's past conversations with an underage teenage fan, including public posts where the two discussed nude images and anime pornography. The fan denied any exploitation in a July 22 post on X, describing such accusations as “massive lies and twisting the truth.”

In a July 24 post on X, Nate Weyman said he and the fan had done unpaid technical work running Tyson’s streams and would all play video games together “for hours on end.” Weyman said Tyson had a private Discord server with about 10 people, mostly other minors around 14 years old, and would frequently spam the server with pornographic images.

Tyson announced her departure from “all things MrBeast and social media” in a July 23 post on X. Donaldson posted on July 24 that he was “disgusted and opposed to such unacceptable acts” and is hiring independent investigators to look into the allegations.

Tyson has been the target of transphobic attacks since she came out last year as transgender. Last April, Donaldson defended his close friend against a video describing her as a “nightmare" for MrBeast. Donaldson wrote on X then that “this is getting absurd," affirmed their friendship and said “this transphobia” was starting to anger him.

Giveaways questioned

Last week, a former employee accused Donaldson of rigging the contests in his videos, running illegal lotteries and deceiving his fans. The person made the sweeping accusations under an alias in a YouTube video that has reached over 6.9 million views since it was posted last week.

Donaldson has not publicly responded to the unsubstantiated claims. Chucky Appleby, who co-founded YouTube analytics platform ViewStats alongside Donaldson, said the former employee was fired within a month after displaying “erratic behavior." In a July 29 post on X, Appleby denied accusations that MrBeast fakes videos and said it “would have been impossible to hide” scripted segments from the “countless people on set."

“Jimmy spends unfathomable amounts of money and time to ensure the integrity of what he does," Appleby said. “I hate to see it come into question with a bunch of lies.”

AP direct messaged several social media users behind the range of accusations, as well as the underage fan.

Matthew Wade, a La Trobe University sociology lecturer focused on ethics of charity, credited Beast Philanthropy for establishing partnerships with esteemed philanthropic organizations. The “gauche tone and occasional crassness” of Donaldson's style might have been well worth his “truly extraordinary reach" for nonprofits eager to drive support toward their causes, Wade told AP in an email.

But risk calculations could shift, he said.

“Charities and philanthropic foundations cannot gamble with their reputation,” Wade said. “They must be seen as above reproach, and the steady accumulation of controversies around the MrBeast brand may too easily tarnish the pristine glow of their own.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.